- 14 - and the prescribed dhikr, and he permitted him to wear the khirqa. My sheikh, Sheikh Habib Allah, son of Sheikh Hassan al-Basri, who took from his sheikh and guide Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Bahari al-Baghdadi, gave me his permission. Then Sheikh Abu Idris took up the dhikr and the training of murids, and his paths diverged. Taj al-Din, from him and from those who followed his path of al-Qudhah, were his son Sheikh Daf' Allah, Sheikh Abu 'Aqilah bin Ahmad, his brother, Sheikh Naim Abd al-Kibrah, Al-Haj Salama al-Diyai, Abd al-Nur the poet, and a large group. Each of these mentioned had knowledge, unveilings, and visions. He had a great brotherhood and union with Sheikh Idris, their field being Abyad Dairi. His brother Sheikh Abdullah was at that time a student with Sheikh Abd al-Rahman bin Jabir. Then they moved from Abyad Dairi and settled in the Hijaz al-Hilaiyah because they were Bedouins. He married the daughter of Al-Haj al-Ja'ali al-Nawahi in al-Kurda, and she bore him a son named Idris, after whom he was known. He and his mother died young. Then the Rifa'is branched out. They cut off the ears of their general populace, so they migrated and settled in the forest of Rifa'a. He married the daughter of Abu Burda Rifa'a there, and she bore him daughters. She and her daughters died. He remained there for seventeen years without marrying. He became known for his asceticism, and there are stories, anecdotes, and accounts of his asceticism. Among them is that he used to stay at the zawiya in al-Qais without a cloak, and throughout his life, he never stood at the door of an emir for intercession or any other reason. It is told that Sheikh Ajib al-Wali sent for his brother Sheikh Abdullah to come to him and ordered him to bring Sheikh Abu Idris with him. He refused to meet him. He, may Allah be pleased with him, and his students consulted with Sheikh Ajib. Sheikh Ajib descended and sat under a tree, and told them, "If he asks about me, tell him a poor man has arrived." The reason for his marriage to the mother of Sheikh Daf' Allah was that he sent one of his students, called Ibn Jarra, to Al-Haj Salama al-Dabai. He found a respectable daughter with him and described her. He said, "I will not marry her." He said to him, "You are a fornicator, waiting for women." He rebuked him and drove him away. It fell upon Sheikh Idris and he said, "I have no interest in women." His solitude became prolonged, and his distress from the interruption of the dhikr lessened. So Sheikh forgave him and said to him, "Marry her. If your good fortune is with her, you will have four children. They are Daf' Allah, my son. I will attend his birth, circumcise him, and name him." Abu Idris married her, and her name was Fatima, the mother of al-Hussein. In the fog, great signs appeared, and she became pregnant by him. When she gave birth, they informed him and said, "Fatima has given birth to a son. Come circumcise him." He was sitting on the humble mat of Al-Haj Salama. He said, "This man is a saint. Everything we told him has happened." He kissed his forehead from below. What a banner and a distressed horse! When Sheikh arrived, they brought him in.